The Long Way Home
by TechnoGecko1826
Summary: China was now a wasteland of terror and blood, and Leon has had enough of the nightmares. Helena is broken and already feeling the pain of their struggle during the mission. During the journey home in the chopper, their friendship starts to blossom more. Oneshot: Set before the prequel and sequel to my other fanfics.


Fire, fire was everywhere. The red flames glimmered in the smoggy night over China, and the shimmering shadows from the tall burning buildings cascaded a strange sense of calm, but danger. Smoke radiated throughout the sky as bodies fell, people died, and the world collapsed in a moment of utter weakness. The dead had no limits and could fester, and those that tried to survive eventually fell to a gruesome death. Either destroyed by flames or engulfed by the living dead, there were no other options. Except for Leon and Helena, who managed to survive thanks to Ada Wong. Leon couldn't help but wonder how many countless lives had been destroyed in a single night of misfortune. As his eyes glanced down at the fading chaos below him, he began to wonder if Ada had made it out alright. While contemplating his thoughts, the chopper hit some minor turbulence and he jolted a bit in his seat as Helena managed to stabilize the machine. He looked over at her, seeing that her body was bruised and tired. Leon had thought that she had put up a good fight throughout Tall Oaks and China, and she earned his respect. He gazed at her calmly while almost feeling his eyes give out to much needed sleep.

Helena looked over real quick and could see Leon half sleeping in the passenger's seat of the chopper. She gently stretched her arm over and tugged at his shirt which was covered in soot and dust. Leon gently opened up his eyes and looked at her, taking notice that he had fallen asleep. He slowly propped himself up and stretched. After sighing a bit he looked back over to Helena. She was poised and looking straight ahead, never once flinching as she shifted the helicopter slightly. Leon looked back out of the window and could tell they were now far away from the calamity in China. Leon assumed he hadn't been out long due to seeing the night sky, and since they were out of the smog he could finally see the stars. He found it ironic, and somewhat amazing that on missions such as these where many people lose their lives or are caught up in disaster the stars never lost their spark. Everything in the world could be going to hell yet the sky could continue to shine amidst the chaos below. His eyes slowly took in the beauty before him. Despite what had happened not that long ago and almost being killed he almost felt at peace. It was a strange feeling that overcame him. Leon broke out of his trance when he took notice of Helena lightly bobbing her head once in a while. Her arms looked like they were about to give out. He quickly unbuckled from his seat and went over to her side, gently propping her up until she looked up at him.

"Helena let me switch you spots for now."

"Leon its okay, I got this."

He shook his head at her and took a hold of the clutch without knowing his hands were on top of hers. She looked up at him with concern in her eyes.

"Helena you need to rest up. You're drifting off a bit. You don't want to crash us after we just got out of that mess now do you?"

She was somewhat irritated hearing that from him, being a dedicated pilot Helena never once had a slip up before. However she knew Leon was right. Her body felt like it was going to shut down. On the ground when they were in China, she mostly relied on quick bursts of adrenaline coursing through her body to get her out of that hell pit. Now that the danger was dying off, she was beginning to feel the full effects of how much she damaged herself. Leon slowly took his hands off of hers real quick as she got up from the seat and made her way over to the passenger's side. Leon immediately grabbed a hold clutch and began to pilot the chopper. He leaned back in the seat a bit as he adjusted himself to get more comfortable. Helena was slightly slouched on the other side, and she found herself looking out at the sky much like Leon did not that long ago. She had wondered in the corner of her mind, if Deborah was out there looking down on her. Helena wasn't one for being religious, but deep down she'd like to believe that somewhere her sister was still alive. She found herself closing her eyes and breathing in deeper. The weight of the world was pulling her body down, she felt consumed by exhaustion.

Leon looked over at her for a moment taking in the sight of her. He could feel her pain, or at least have an idea of what her body was going through. He could remember after escaping Raccoon City when the adrenaline died in his system and feeling like a massive weight had been placed on his body. By now he was more than use to missions such as China and feeling the exhaustion accompanied by the fear that overtook him. For Helena though, someone who wasn't ever experienced with bioterrorism until now, this was probably going to be a long and grueling process for her to recover from the physical and mental damage she took. Leon focused his attention back to the front of the chopper, and only glanced back when he saw Helena jolt up from her seat almost panicked once more.

"Be easy on yourself right now. You're probably going to feel a lot of pain coming up."

Helena gasped a bit as she clenched the side of her ribs. She was beginning to feel a pressure on her side as well as hear a light crunching noise emitting from her bones. Helena gently tugged her shirt up a bit to look at the area. It was practically black and purple. The massive hit she took from the car explosion earlier was starting to now reach her nerves. Helena lightly bit her lip as she could feel her side clench with every movement of muscle. She let out a faint gasp as she heard another crack, this time it caught Leon's attention more.

"Where does it hurt at?"

"My—my side. I think I broke something there."

"Most likely. Hang in there, alright? I know this is really hard and it's only going to get worse but I'll get us back to the base as soon as I can."

Helena looked up at Leon, seeing him looking at her with some concern before focusing back to the front of the chopper once more. She glanced at his body, her eyes trailing him a bit before she cocked an eye brow.

"How come you're not feeling the agony I'm feeling right now?"

She could see Leon smirk a little bit before responding.

"I'm use to this kind of pain."

Helena found herself lightly smiling, but even then the muscles in her lips were sore to move.

"How many missions have you been on like this?"

"Too many to count, but I have to say Tall Oaks and China definitely make my top twenty of everlasting terror."

Helena found herself lightly laugh in her throat a bit as she leaned up the best she could without further damaging her sides. Leon glanced back over and could see the struggle she was going through. Right now he wanted to help her out, but he knew at this point he wouldn't be able to do much. Leon then thought about some topics to discuss. He figured that maybe breaking the ice further with Helena would take her mind off the pain and even maybe let her be more at ease despite losing her sister.

"Do you like music?"

Helena was taken aback by his question as much as Leon was by himself asking that. He thought, of all the things to discuss why this? Helena carefully looked out the window of the chopper, seeing some clouds go by as the moon came out from its hiding place.

"Yeah, I do. Why you ask?"

"Trying to make a conversation to pass the time."

"You always do this to your partners when you're bored?"

Helena said while she smiled. Leon smirked a bit and nodded.

"No, I don't. What genre do you like?"

"Anything just about. I can't stand some of the new pop singles we have today though. What about you?"

Leon shrugged a bit before replying.

"Same here. Personally though I prefer the classics."

"Define classics."

"Well, you know the Beatles and what not. I also happen to like ACDC."

Helena found herself cracking up a bit inside as Leon looked over at her, taking notice of her small little hiccups of laughter emitting from her mouth.

"What's so funny?"

"You just don't look like the type who'd listen to ACDC."

Leon smiled a bit as his eyes glanced over at her.

"I'll have you know I've been to some of their concerts."

"It just doesn't seem like you."

"There's a lot about me you still don't know."

"Ditto."

Helena and Leon found their eyes contacting one another for a brief second. It was a friendly glance but they couldn't help but smile bigger at each other. Helena realized she was staring for too long though and glanced off. Leon quickly followed suit.

"Hey, I don't mean for this to sound awkward and all but do you want to play twenty questions?"

"I guess we could. What gave you the idea?"

Helena lightly hissed as she could feel a muscle spasm in her ribcage. She looked down to where she was wounded real quickly before gently glancing her head forward.

"T-to get my mind off of the pain, also I think it would be a good ice breaker. It would also keep you up so I don't have to worry about you being the one to crash the chopper."

Leon found himself shaking his head a bit as he grinned for a moment.

"You really think I am that bad of a pilot?"

"Eh, somewhat."

"You better start asking your questions before I call the whole thing off then."

Helena lightly cocked an eye brow and looked at Leon seriously. He glanced back and smiled though to show he wasn't really that offended. Helena took in a breath before speaking up.

"What's your full name?"

"Leon Scott Kennedy. My middle name comes from my great-grandfather on my mother's side. Ditto to your question."

"Helena Katherine Harper. Parents just picked out middle name because it sounded good at the time."

Leon found himself laughing a bit to her response as he awaited another question.

"Did you have any siblings?"

"No, I was an only child. Grew up in a middle class home, my folks were too busy raising me to have another kid. What's your favorite color?"

Helena hesitated a bit before responding. She had to give it some thought before she lightly hummed to herself before getting ready to give an answer.

"Probably shades of blue. What about you?"

"I'd say red."

"Because it reminds you of Ada?"

Leon felt that question sting him a bit as he shrugged it off and smirked.

"I thought you are not supposed to ask two questions at once during the game."

"You're trying to avoid answering aren't you?"

"Maybe just a little bit."

Helena could detect some sadness in his voice and she quickly dropped it. She had already interrogated him enough back in China, she knew that deep down Leon and Ada went way back somehow. She could even sense the pain in his body language when she asked him if he had feelings for Ada when they were going up the elevator to the roof top earlier on. Leon took notice of how quiet things had gotten between the two, and how awkward the atmosphere became. He sighed a bit and tried to figure out how he could bring the conversation back to what it was originally. He really didn't want to think about Ada or anything with China nor Tall Oaks at the moment.

"Do you like to do anything for sport?"

Helena felt her energy pick up a bit as Leon asked another question. She had thought for sure everything was going to be dropped as soon as she asked him about Ada. Helena found herself blinking a few times, taking a moment to think.

"Boxing here and there, other than that just plain old walking works for me."

Leon nodded in understanding. Helena then gulped a little bit a she began to form the words to her own question she had been meaning to ask on the plane, but never got the chance to. After Leon said she was starting to grow on him, she thought back to the sewers and how close the pair was to one another. Helena could remember the light shining brightly in her eyes, and feeling Leon's arms around her holding onto her for safety. She could remember feeling lightheaded in his embrace and felt dizzy when she finally adjusted her eyes to the light and looked up at Leon's eyes. She could remember the details of his face and the way he glanced up and down at her, she could even remember seeing the small beads of sweat gently trickle down his face. The moment was awkward but at the same time there was something about it that felt right. Helena snapped out of her thinking and finally worked up the courage to come clean.

"Why did you hold me in the sewers?"

Leon turned his head and gave Helena his full attention momentarily. His eyes were transfixed onto hers as he felt somewhat vulnerable. He sighed a little bit before yawning and could remember that moment. He had meant to catch her so that way she didn't break her fall or injure herself, but then as he held her close there was something about the light when it shined upon her. Leon could remember the way her eyes shined and how her skin looked perfect. He could remember the way her hair was cascaded down her head and past her shoulders, and how her lips lightly trembled from the jump. He could remember feeling somewhat hurt when she quickly decided enough was enough when the staring became too potent. Leon brought himself back to the present and began to answer her question.

"You fell down and I didn't want you to hurt yourself."

"Was that it?"

"What else would there be?"

"I don't know…I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'm not offended by it."

They both could sense a little bit of disappointment in the others voices. Helena smirked somewhat and tried to think of another question before Leon was to ask his.

"Can I ask you a different question to make up for it?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not."

"What is your favorite past time?"

Leon found a devious smirk trace his lips before he replied.

"Seducing beautiful women in sewers."

Helena felt her face flush and a light gasp escaped from her mouth as she looked at Leon with her eyes wide. He just merely looked over and laughed as she shook her head out of disappointment. She found herself smiling though; for some reason it made her feel happy to hear that though it was weird at the moment.

"I'm just kidding Helena."

"Alright I know, I get it. Seriously though, what is your—"

"Helena?"

Helena found herself gripping her side as she could feel another pain hit her back. This time she could feel a sharp stinging sensation like one would get if a thousand hornets bit a certain area. She lightly groaned as her body tensed up from the pressure radiating from her back. Leon desperately wanted to come over and comfort her, but there was no way he could let go of the clutch. He looked onward at her in fear as she found herself squirming a bit before the pain ceased momentarily. Helena panted hard as she pulled herself together, feeling beads of sweat trickle down the side of her face.

"Helena, are you alright?"

She was panting in between breaths as she began to respond.

"N-no, well I'm fine now but that seriously hurt."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am sure."

"You should try to sleep again while you have a chance."

Helena looked up at him and began to protest.

"What about the game and—"

"Don't worry about it, we can continue it later on if you'd like. For now though I'm worried about your well being. Go to sleep for now, Helena."

Leon gave her a reassuring smile as she nodded at him. Helena tried to get herself in a comfortable position before she could feel her eyes grow heavy and still. It didn't take long before she was fully out cold, and Leon found some comfort in that. He gazed at her one more time, taking in her starlit skin and the bruises she had acquired from their mission. A part of him felt sad that their game had to end so soon, but he was happy it didn't progress further though. Leon thought about Ada real quick, and how Helena's words haunted him. _You have feelings for her, don't you?_ He didn't know why but her tone and everything about that question ate at his stomach and mind.

Leon breathed in slowly as he rubbed his forehead and looked back out towards the sky, taking in a good long look at the stars. Helena and him were out of one hell, and for some reason his instincts told him they might be heading for another when they were to land. He didn't know why but he felt a strong sense of protection over her and knew that once they made it back to the government facility, he had to keep her safe. Leon knew most likely that she would be arrested for what had happened to the president despite catching Simmons, but he knew the truth and he was determined to get her out of this mess. Leon closed his eyes briefly, thinking about the future. His thoughts quickly dissolved though as he told himself to stay in the present. Despite being out of the mess in the ruins of China and the desolate wasteland of Tall Oaks, Leon felt like this was going to be one of many long nights ahead.


End file.
